Wheel chair



Sept. 1962 A. E. F. JOHNSON ET AL 3,054,638

WHEEL. CHAIR 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Jan. 16, 1961 jmzjer'ci 's ax/sfizye 502962? 8433610 75C263 frag 5 p 1952 A. E.- F. JOHNSON ETAL 3,054,638

WHEEL CHAIR 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Jan. 16, 1961 United States PatentOfifice 3,554,638 Fatented Sept. 18, 1362 Ohio Filed Jan. 16, 1961, Ser.No. 82,333 8 Claims. (Cl. 297-42) This invention relates to a wheelchair, and more specifically, to a chair particularly suited for use inhospitals and nursing homes as a patient admittance chair.

An object of the present invention is to provide an admittance chair ofsimple and sturdy construction which is capable of being folded into acompact state when not in use. Another object is to provide acollapsible wheel chair having a luggage rack capable of supporting apatients luggage, the rack being positioned and arranged to support evenlarge pieces of luggage without danger that such luggage may drop fromthe rack as the chair is moved about by an attendant. A further objectis to provide a sturdy folding admittance chair having a luggage rackwhich may be collapsed to occupy a minimal amount of space when thechair is folded.

Other objects will appear from the specification and drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view illustrating a chair embodying thepresent invention while it is in use as a luggage-carrying patientsadmittance chair;

FIGURE 2 is a side elevational view of the chair;

FIGURE 3 is a rear elevational view of the chair with the luggage rackthereof in lowered condition;

FIGURE 4 is a rear elevational view showing the chair in collapsed orfolded condition;

FIGURE 5 is an enlarged broken vertical sectional view taken along line55 of FIGURE 3;

FIGURE 6 is a still further enlarged vertical cross sectional view takenalong line 66 of FIGURE 5;

FIGURE 7 is an enlarged fragmentary exploded view showing the wheel andrack mounting structure of the chair.

vIn the embodiment of the invention illustrated in the drawings, thenumeral 10 generally designates a collapsible admittance chair having apair of side frames 11 and a linkage assembly 12 disposed therebetween.Eeach side frame is of tubular construction, consisting essentially of amain tubular portion 13 and an armrest tube 14. As shown most clearly inFIGURE 2, the main portion 13 is formed from a single tube which is bentto provide upper horizontal section 15, front leg rest-supportingsection 16, bottom horizontal runner section 17, upstanding back restsection 18, and handle section 19. Near its lower end, and intermediatethe upper and lower horizontal sections 15 and 17, the rear back restsection 18 turns rearwardly and downwardly and then curves forwardly tomerge with the bottom runner. This sloping portion 20, and the rearportion of the bottom runner disposed directly therebelow, firmlysupports the wheel and rack mounting member 21 as Will be more fullydescribed hereinafter.

The linkage assembly 12 comprises two pair of pivotally connected links22 which are secured at their upper ends to parallel seat-supportingtubes 23 which in turn carry a foldable fabric seat 24 extendingtherebetween. The lower ends of the links are connected to hinge members25 which are pivotally mounted upon the bottom runners of the sideframes. Preferably, the hinge members and the bottom runners aredetachably as well as pivotally connected to each other in the mannerdisclosed in Mize Patent No. 2,914,111, issued November 24, 1959.

The armrest tube 14 may be secured to its side frame by rivets or by anyother suitable connecting means. At the front of the chair, connected tothe respective side frames 11, are a pair of footrest units 26. Each ofthe footrest units includes a footrest plate 27 swingable between raisedand lower positions about the axis of a forwardly-extending bar 28aflixed to the lower end of footrest tube 29. Tube 29 may be secured tothe front section 16 of its side frame by welding or by any other means.

The front pivot wheel assemblies 30 are connected to the forwardportions of the bottom runners 17 directly behind the depending lowerportions of footrest tubes 29. Rear wheels 31, which are only slightlylarger than the front wheels and which are substantially smaller thanthe drive wheels of a conventional wheel cair, are rotatably carried bythe mounting members 21, as shown most clearly in FIGURES 2, 5 and 6.

Each mounting member 21 may be formed from a plurality of metal plateswelded or otherwise afiixed to each other to form a unitary mountingstructure. Referring FIGURE 7, it will be observed that the mountingmember 21 comprises an outer plate 32, an intermediate plate 33 and aninner plate 34. The lower portions of the intermediate and outer platesare spaced apart and are apertured at 35 to receive the axle 36 of arear wheel 31. Those portions of the intermediate and outer platesextending over the top of the wheel are provided with a threaded opening37 for receiving the threaded shank of a vertically extending brakescrew 38. As shown most clearly in FIGURE 6, the brake screw has anenlarged upper end or knob to facilitate the manual rotation of thescrew into a lowered braking position or into a raised releasingposition.

Inner plate 34 and outer plate 32 have spaced upper portions 39 and 40which define an open-topped channel receiving the downwardly andrearwardly inclined portion 20 of the frames rear tubular section 18. Itwill be noted that the rear edge 41 of the channels base engages theunder surface of the downwardly and rearwardly sloping tube 20 and thatthe tube may be firmly clamped between the upstanding upper portions ofthe plates by means of bolts 42 and 43 extending through selectedaligned openings 44 of a group of openings provided by the upstandingplates.

The lower portion of the inner plate 34 extends inwardly and thendownwardly to provide a downwardly opening channel receiving thehorizontal runner 17 of the frame. In FIGURE 7 it will be seen that theinner plates lower portion is apertured at 45 to receive a bolt 46 whichextents downwardly through an opening in the frames horizontal runner17.

A luggage rack 47 is provided by the chair behind the upstanding reartubes 18 of the frame for supporting luggage in the manner representedin FIGURE 1. The rack comprises a pair of tubes 48 each providedadjacent one end thereof with a horizontal opening 49 (FIGURE 7). Thisopening pivotally receives one of the bolts 42 which extends through thealigned apertures 44 of the upstanding plates 39 and 40. Upward pivotalmovement of each tube is limited by the upstanding rear tube 18 of eachside frame, as indicated in broken lines in FIGURE 2, while the extentof downward pivotal movement is limited by bolt 43 which extends throughanother pair of aligned apertures 44 in the upstanding plates 39 and 44If desired, a resilient sleeve 51) (FIGURE 7) may extend about thatportion of bolt 43 disposed between the upper portions of the upstandingplates to cushion the tubes of the rack as they approach the lowerlimits of their range of pivotal movement. proximately degrees between arearwardly extending horizontal position and an upwardly projectingraised position.

This range, as represented in FIGURE 2, is apace gees Between theparallel tubes 48 of the luggage rack extends a sheet 51 of fabric orother foldable and substantially non-stretchable material. As shown inFIG- URE 7, the fabric sheet is folded about tubes 48 and may be removedtherefrom by sliding the sheet off of the tubes free ends. To preventunintentional sliding movement of the sheet and to reduce thepossibilities that damage might be cause to articles against which thechair is brought into contact, the free ends of the luggage rack tubesare equipped with resilient caps 52 (FIGURE 5).

The chair is provided with a fabric back 53 which extends between theupstanding back tubes 18 of the side frames. When the chair is collapsedby urging the side frames together, the foldable back sheet 53 buckles,as indicated in FIGURE 4. A similar buckling of the fabric sheet 51 ofthe luggage rack occurs and, when the pivotally mounted tubes of therack are in raised condition, the fabric sheet of that rack and the backsheet of the chair fold or nest together. Thus, the luggage rack doesnot interfere with the collapsing and expanding of the chair and doesnot appreciably increase the amount of space required for storage of thechair when that chair is collapsed.

It is believed apparent that the wheel chair of the present invention isparticularly suited for use as an admittance chair. A patients luggagemay be supported by the lowered luggage rack in the manner indicated inFIGURE 1. Forward tipping movement of suitcase 54 is prevented by theupstanding rear tubes 18 of the side frames While rearward tippingmovement of the case is prevented by the attendant directly behind thechair. If desired, a suitable strap or tie band (not shown) may extendbetween the rear tubes 18 of the chair so that it may be stretched ortied about a piece of luggage to prevent it from shifting in positionupon the rack as the chair is moved. However, for the reasons alreadyindicated, such a strap is unnecessary because of the location of therack and the normal position of an attendant when the chair is beingmoved.

The rack is rigidly mounted by the paired mounting members 21 despitethe fact that each of those members has only a single bolt 46 extendingthrough the tubular frame of the chair. Referring to FIGURE 5, it willbe seen that weight imposed upon the rearwardly extending luggage rackmight otherwise tend to pivot each mounting member rearwardly about itsbolt connection 46 if it were not for the engagement between the rearedge 41 of the mounting member and the under surface of the side framesdownwardly and rearwardly sloping tubular portion 20. The tight clampingof the inclined tubular portion between the upstanding plate portions 39and 40, as well as the bolt connection 46, also contributes to the rigidinterconnection of parts.

While in the foregoing specification we have disclosed an embodiment ofthe invention in considerable detail for purposes of illustration itwill be understood by those skilled in the art that many of thesedetails may be varied considerably without departing from the spirit andscope of the invention.

We claim:

1. A wheel chair comprising a tubular frame equipped with a pair oflaterally spaced rear tubular members each having a downwardly andrearwardly inclined portion merging at its lower end with a forwardlydirected horizontal portion thereof, a pair of rack-mounting memberseach abutting the sloping underside of one of said inclined portions andbeing secured to the horizontal portion therebelow, and a luggage rackcomprising a pair of laterally-spaced tubes and a foldable sheetextending therebetween, said tubes each being pivotally connectedadjacent one end thereof and above said inclined portion to one of saidrack-mounting members and being swingable between a substantiallyvertical raised position and a substantially horizontal loweredposition, and 7 2,914,111

A means provided by said rack-mounting members to limit the extent ofdownwardly pivotal movement of said tubes when the same are in loweredpositions.

2. The structure of claim 1 in which said chair is equipped with frontand rear wheels, said rack-mounting members rotatably supporting therear wheels of said chair.

3. The structure of claim 2 in which said rack when lowered projectsrearwardly behind said rear Wheels and the frame of said chair.

4. A collapsible patients admittance chair comprising a pair of tubularside frames linked together for lateral movement between expanded andcollapsed positions, said side frame each having a substantiallyvertical tubular back member, a foldable back rest sheet extendingbetween the back members of said side frames, a pair of rack-mountingmembers provided by said side frames adjacent the lower ends of saidback members, and a luggage rack comprising a pair of tubes having afoldable luggage rack sheet extending therebetween, said tubes eachbeing pivotally connected adjacent one end thereof to one of saidrack-mounting members and being swingable between a substantiallyvertical raised position and a substantially horizontal andrearwardly-projecting lowered position, said foldable luggage rack andback rest sheets being adapted to fold together in nested relation whensaid chair is collapsed with said luggage rack tubes in raisedpositions.

5. The structure of claim 4 in which means are provided by saidrack-mounting members to limit the extent of downward pivotal movementof said tubes when the same are in lowered positions.

6. A patients admittance chair comprising a pair of laterally-spacedtubular side frames each having an upstanding rear section and ahorizontal bottom section joined together by a downwardly and rearwardlyinclined lower portion of said rear section, a pair of rackmountingmembers each secured to one of said side frames, each of saidrack-mounting members including a pair of laterally-spaced platesclamping opposite sides of the inclined lower portion of one of saidside frames and being secured to said bottom section therebelow, and aluggage rack comprising a pair of laterally-spaced tubes and a foldablesheet extending therebetween, said tubes each being pivotally connectedadjacent one end thereof to a rack-mounting member and being swingablebetween a raised position and a rearwardly-projecting lowered position.

7. The structure of claim 6 in which said chair is provided with frontand rear wheels, said tubes of said luggage rack projecting rearwardlybehind said side frames and said wheels when said tubes are in loweredpositions, said rack-mounting members rotatably mounting the rear wheelsof said chair.

8. The structure of claim 6 in which means are provided by saidrack-mounting members for limiting the extent of downward movement ofsaid tubes when the same are in lowered positions, one of said plates ofeach rack-mounting member having a horizontal rear edge disposed beneathsaid inclined portion of said rear tubular section and in contacttherewith, said one plate also having a horizontal portion in contactwith the top of said horizontal bottom section, whereby, said rackmounting member is locked against movement with respect to said sideframe in response to downward forces applied to said rack when the sameis in lowered position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,661,791 Laufer Dec. 8, 1953 2,901,261 Olvey Aug. 25, 19 9. Mize Nov.24, 1959

